Reaching new customer segments is essential for growing your ecommerce store's sales. Partnering with creators (influencers) is one approach that's getting a lot of attention for this.
Shopify Collabs is an official Shopify app that connects creators with store owners, making it easy to run an effective affiliate program. You can get started with no upfront cost, and since it's a pay-for-performance model where you only pay when a sale happens, you can aim for new customer acquisition while keeping risk low.
This article gives a detailed explanation of Shopify Collabs' core features, benefits, things to watch out for, and how to use it.
What Is Shopify Collabs?
Image source: Shopify Collabs | Shopify App Store
Shopify Collabs is Shopify's own official affiliate app that supports sales growth by connecting store owners with creators (influencers). An affiliate is a pay-for-performance advertising method where creators or individuals introduce your products, and you pay a reward when a sale results from that referral.
You can create an original recruitment page to gather creators, or invite them directly and offer product gifts or discounts. You issue each creator a dedicated affiliate link or discount code, and pay a reward based on the sales that come through it.
Orders are automatically tracked via the affiliate link or discount code. Commission payouts can also be processed automatically when conditions are met.
Shopify Collabs' Main Features and What You Can Do
Here's what Shopify Collabs' main features let you do.
Recruit Creators with a Custom Application Page
Shopify Collabs lets you easily create an application page designed to match your brand. Creators can apply to participate through this page, and you can select and approve people who fit your products and image.
You can also send a direct invitation to a specific creator. Everything from recruitment to selection happens entirely within Shopify.
Issuing Affiliate Links and Discount Codes
Once you approve a creator, you can issue them a dedicated affiliate link or discount code. Purchases made through that link or code are recorded as that creator's results.
Since you can configure settings differently for each creator, you can accurately track how much each one has contributed. Discount rates and eligibility conditions can also be freely customized.
Sending and Tracking Gifts and Product Samples
You can send gifts or samples so creators can actually try your products. The shipping process happens entirely within Shopify, and you can track the shipment status in real time.
When a creator who has received a product posts a review or introduction on social media, brand awareness spreads in a natural way.
Sales Tracking and Automatic Reward Payouts
Each creator's contribution can be checked at a glance on the dashboard. Sales data is aggregated automatically, so no manual calculation is needed. Reward payouts are also processed automatically within Shopify, greatly reducing the monthly payout workload.
Reward rates can be set per product or per creator, letting you build a flexible reward structure.
The Benefits of Adopting Shopify Collabs
Here are the benefits you get from adopting Shopify Collabs.
Acquiring New Customers and Growing Sales
Adopting Shopify Collabs lets you reach a new customer base — the follower base a creator has built. You can reach, through creators, potential customers who wouldn't have been reached by your own advertising alone, expanding your customer base.
In particular, choosing creators with a strong affinity for your brand lets you efficiently reach your target segment, which can be expected to grow sales.
Optimize Ad Spend with a Pay-for-Performance Model
Since Shopify Collabs is pay-for-performance, you only pay creators a reward when a sale actually happens. Unlike traditional advertising, you don't need to pay costs upfront without knowing whether it'll be effective.
There's no upfront cost either — you only pay a fee based on sales. It can be used as a cost-effective marketing initiative, letting even small stores get started while keeping risk low.
Efficient Operations Through Automated Admin Work
Tedious tasks like sales tracking, reward calculation, and payment processing are automated, so you can run an affiliate program without a lot of manual effort. Even when partnering with multiple creators, you can manage everything from a single dashboard, which is also efficient.
This frees you up to focus on your core work — product development and customer support.
Sales Promotion That Leverages a Creator's Credibility
Product introductions from creators tend to be trusted more than ads put out by a company. Followers often make purchase decisions based on a creator's opinion, which leads naturally to purchases.
In particular, when a creator shares their honest impressions and reviews after actually using a product, it comes across as a genuine voice, adding to its persuasive power.
Things to Watch Out for When Using Shopify Collabs
Here are some things to watch out for when using Shopify Collabs.
Settings Are English Only
Shopify Collabs' admin and settings items are shown in English only, and these are not covered by your browser's translation feature. If you're not comfortable with English, proceed carefully — using this article as a reference, or using a translation tool alongside it.
Availability Is Limited by Plan
Shopify Collabs isn't available on the Starter plan or the Retail plan. It's available on every other Shopify plan. Check in advance whether it's available on the plan you're on.
Japan Is Not Eligible for the Open Access Program
The "Open Access Program," which lets you automatically extend offers to a large number of creators, is, as of February 2026, currently limited to creators based in the US, UK, and Canada. If you're targeting creators in Japan, running the program through invitations or applications is the realistic approach.
Choose Your Creators Carefully
Some applicants may not be a good fit for your brand in terms of follower count or area of activity. Since the automatic filtering feature isn't fully comprehensive, check each applicant's profile, social media account, and post content individually.
Approving applicants too casually can negatively affect your brand image, so it's important to prioritize quality when selecting creators.
Shopify Collabs Pricing
Adopting Shopify Collabs is free. Recruiting and managing creators is also free to use. Costs only arise when a sale actually happens through a creator and you pay out the reward automatically. If you use the automatic payout feature to pay a creator's commission, a 2.9% processing fee applies to that commission amount.
Adopting Shopify Collabs is free. Recruiting and managing creators is also free to use. Costs only arise when a sale actually happens through a creator and you pay out the reward automatically. If you use the automatic payout feature to pay a creator's commission, a 2.9% processing fee applies to that commission amount.
In other words, this is a fully pay-for-performance pricing structure — you incur no cost unless a sale happens.
That said, you need to set the creator's reward rate yourself, and this reward requires separate payment. For example, if you set the reward rate to 10% and a sale of ¥10,000 occurs, the commission is ¥1,000. A 2.9% processing fee (¥29) is added on top of that ¥1,000 payment.
※ This content is based on information as of February 2026.
How to Set Up and Use Shopify Collabs
Here's how to set up and use Shopify Collabs.
Setup and Initial Configuration
First, install "Shopify Collabs" from the Shopify App Store.
Image source: Shopify Collabs | Shopify App Store
Your Shopify store will show an install confirmation again — click "Install."
Once the app is installed, the settings screen appears — click "Get Started."
First, enter your basic information.
- The address that receives notifications from Collabs
- Product category
- Main target customer (gender)
- The country you want to promote your products to
Finally, check the box to "Agree to the terms of service," and click "Finish setup."
Other settings can be configured from "Settings" in the menu. You can set up email, notifications, your profile, the payout holding period, and more.
Creating and Inviting to an Affiliate Program
Here are the steps for creating an affiliate program. Click "Program" > "Create invite program" from the menu, in that order.
A page like the one shown below will appear.
Here's what you can set:
- Program name
- Affiliate link
- Link destination
- URL parameters
- Customer discount
- Discount value
- Minimum requirements
- Usage limits
- Apply discount to
- Purchase type
- Customer segment
- Affiliate commission
- Commission type
- Commission amount (or rate)
- Subscription product commission rules
Under Customer segment, you can set different reward rates for "new customers" versus "repeat customers." Also, selecting "Percentage per products" as the commission type lets you change the reward rate by product or collection.
Clicking "Create" creates the affiliate program. You can create multiple programs.
Clicking "Invite creators," shown at the top of the image above, lets you send an invitation email for the program to creators.
Register the address of the creator you want to invite under "Add creator emails." How to find a creator's address is covered in the next section.
Searching for Creators
Here's how to search for creators. Select "Recruiting" from the menu, and a list of creators you can apply to through Collabs will appear.
You can search and sort the list. The items you can sort by are:
- Social account: social platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.)
- Location: the country they're active in
- Audience: follower count
For example, you could narrow it down to "Japanese creators with 10,000+ TikTok followers."
Selecting a creator lets you check their social media account, detailed profile information, country of activity, address, genre, follower count, and more. You can also invite them directly by clicking "Invite creator" under "Start a collab."
That covers how to use it.
Use Shopify Collabs to Reach New Customers
Shopify Collabs is a powerful tool that lets you acquire new customers through partnerships with creators. Since it's pay-for-performance with no upfront cost, you can get started while keeping risk low.
That said, there are points worth checking in advance — plan availability, feature limitations for Japan, and things to watch for when selecting creators. Understanding these and setting clear rules will let you build an effective affiliate program.
Finally, the blog article below covers the pros and cons of running affiliate marketing on Shopify, along with recommended apps. Feel free to check it out for reference.
